The Haunted West

'Twas 4 days before Christmas and all through the house, nothing was stirring, not even a mouse... and me up baking cookies, and the dog looking for handouts, and Mariah watching something strange on Adult Swim, and oh yeah, the stupid cat (she's in heat and making a racket)... Okay then. Let's start this over. It's 12 midnight at the beginning of the Winter Solstice, and I'm up late alternately baking cookies, sipping on hot chocolate and wandering out onto the deck to enjoy the lunar eclipse. The storm blew through, leaving us with a clear and gorgeous night to view this celestial phenomenon. Reminds me that it's the little things in life...cookies, cocoa, a clear winter night, warm furry friends, and all the other little blessings that make me appreciate my wonderful life here on planet Earth. Here's wishing everyone a very happy and safe holiday season.

  This past August, W.I.G.S took a road trip to the annual Goldfield Days celebration. Initially we were planning on pulling Ol’ Kaw Liga (that would be Paula’s pop-up trailer, named after a Hank Williams song), but ended up cruising south in style aboard Mona’s 40-foot motor home. We went without any itinerary, just wanted to visit the town that is home to one of the most famous haunted places in America: The Goldfield Hotel. We knew that there would be other ghost hunters in town, we figured on meeting up with members of R.E.A.L and NNGH from Reno; and during the weekend we also ran into several ghost hunting enthusiasts from Las Vegas. We toured the area with a local historian, met some very interesting townsfolk, watched a parade, ate some great barbeque, joined in a ghost hunt of the Goldfield High School, and hung out at the Santa Fe, the oldest operating saloon in Nevada, where we were treated to karaoke by the local talent (well…local anyway). Goldfield is such an incredi...

One of the most common paranormal phenomena experienced by investigators is unexplained smells. Among the most common scents reported are cigar/cigarette smoke and floral scents; rose, lavender, and jasmine in particular. While sudden odors may be startling at first notice, most can be explained away through analysis of the surrounding environment. Certain odors can linger for a long time: smoke, fuel, urine, oils and certain plant extracts; how long is dependant on the absorption characteristics of the material they are embedded in. Highly absorbent material like wood can radiate residual odors for many years. Some investigators believe that certain aromas exist because of paranormal activity. These individuals believe spirit entities can either manifest these smells from memory or that the energy of the spirit generates the residual scent. Because not everyone in an area may perceive this type of paranormal phenomenon, it is theorized that the odors are not physically present i...

After last year's disappointing attempts to harness my psychic tools, I wasn't expecting too much out of the Spirit to Spirit Communication class in this year's TMCC's paranormal series. In fact, I considered staying home, chilling on the couch and watching a little TV. At the last minute, I lost the - should I stay or should I go - argument with myself, got up off the couch and snuck into class 10 minutes late. I'm glad I went. Pride Hansen's approach to spirit communication is straight forward, easy to understand, and (most important) makes sense. I have a hard time swallowing anything too over the top or New Age-y (Is that even a word? New Age-y?). Anyway. I made it in time to catch his explanation on the difference between clairvoyance and mediumship. As I've mentioned many times before, I have little faith in mediums, that whole idea of a psychic "middle man" conveying messages to and from the spirit world on my behalf  just doesn't...

Today begins the much anticipated TMCC's Nevada Ghost and Paranormal Series 2010. As a former participant, I highly recommend these classes to anyone interested in the unknown, the paranormal, local history, and psychic phenomenon. As always, Kathy Berry has put together a great line up. This year's classes include: UFO study, dream analysis, life after death, spirit communication, paranormal photography and videography, researching haunted locations, decoding tombstones, and a ghost hunt field trip to Buckland Station at Fort Churchill State Park. As an added incentive, TMCC offered an extra investigation of the Chism House to those who signed up for the entire series and enrolled early. Unfortunately, due to prior work and school commitments, I was unable to sign up for the entire series this year. However, I did manage to work 3 classes into my schedule and the Buckland Station investigation. The classes I am taking are: Paranormal Photography and Videography wi...

Pictures of the Star Sirius - The Dog Star, Sirius, and its Tiny Companion NASA, H.E. Bond & E. Nelan(STScI); M. Barstow & M. Burleigh(Univ. of Leicester); & J.B. Holberg(UAz)                 It's been quiet around here lately. The entire summer, in fact. I haven't posted a blog since the end of May. It isn't because I haven't been busy, I have. And while I have danced and played and whiled away the days of summer, I simply could not bring myself to sit down at the computer and compose. Even on those days when it's been too hot to get out and do anything, I preferred to spend the time on my couch, watching TV or reading in the cool darkness of my home. Now while there are those that will accuse me of laziness, apathy, and/or procrastination, I have a solid excuse for my nonproductivity. I have been under the celestial influence of Sirius. "Dog Days" (Latin: diēs caniculārēs): are the hottest, most sultry days...

Back in March of this year, my friend Paul Lindermuth of the Nevada Paranormal Institute was contacted by Chris Cady, a local hypnotist currently performing at the Reno Underground. It seems that Chris and his backstage crew had been experiencing some strange occurrences such as voices, footsteps heard from empty areas of the set and dark figures moving in their peripheral vision. Chris himself experienced the feeling of a presence behind him during one of his performances. These sort of things were happening with enough frequency that Chris wanted a team to come in and rule out paranormal activity.  NPI invited members of the Reno Paranormal Meetup Group to investigate the Underground theatre. The plan was to set up audio and visual surveillance overnight, do some EVP work and then go back and collect the equipment the next day. The Pioneer Theater/Auditorium, now called the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, was built in 1967 and opened in 1968. A quick Inte...

When I began pursuing my interest in the paranormal, volunteerism was not what I had in mind. My intention was to get off the beaten path; learn about the history of Nevada and the West, explore hidden ghost towns, investigate haunted places, and capture that one bit of evidence that would prove a place to be inhabited by spirits. A few weeks ago I responded to my friend Jill's invitation to spend a Saturday washing walls, and sweeping floors. Now if you're thinking that there could be so many better ways to spend a Saturday, you are probably right. But, as it turns out, I learned a little about myself, my place in my community, and the satisfaction of "giving back". Along with  members of R.E.A.L., Reno Paranormal Group, and Virginia City Paranormal, I helped clean up the Old Washoe Club in Virginia City. My muscles whined the next day, but my spirit hummed a happy little tune. We humans are social creatures, we like to feel like we a...

At the Virginia City Paranormal Conference back in March, I had the pleasure of listening to Dave Schrader speak. Dave  is an experienced paranormal investigator, author and the host of "Darkness Radio". His talk was informative, Immensely entertaining and revelant to all aspects of the paranormal field, If you ever have the opportunity to hear Dave speak, do so. I was so impressed by the common sense advice he gave, that I bought his book: "The Other Side: A Teen's Guide to Ghost Hunting and the Paranormal" for Mariah. This book was co-authored by Parick Burns and Marley Gibson. Mariah has been hounding me to take her on an investigation, something I have been hesitant to do because of her age. However, she has been listening to me talk about my experiences, reads my blog, and watches the usual ghosthunting programs on a regular basis. I have taken her on a few ghost tours hoping that would placate her, but she is adamant about going on a true investigation....

From all reports I have gathered, the Silverland has paranormal activity throughout. However, a large portion of the basement is closed off for renovation and it was in this area that W.I.G.s. decided to investigate. The area under renovation consists of a large anteroom with doors leading out to the patio on the right and a hallway on the southeast corner which leads to several smaller meeting rooms off to the left and the restrooms toward the back. Since there were already a group of investigators in the back area of the basement, we walked down the hall and entered the first room. I don't know if it was because we were coming from a light area into a dark area and our eyes didn't have to adjust, but this room was dark. Black dark. It was so disorienting that both Mona and I needed to step back out for a second. By this time there were several passersby (Sandi and Veronica), which we enlisted to enter the room. They experienced the same weir...

This past weekend I attended the Virginia City Paranormal Conference hosted by Janice Oberding. First let me say, I had a great time. Janice did a fantastic job. The conference was held at the Silverland Hotel. The Silverland is built over the lower end of the old Redlight District and the upper end of Chinatown. It is reportedly haunted, and we were going to be given the opportunity to investigate the basement areas. I arrived at around 5 pm on Friday evening. As soon as I got out of my car, I ran into Jill Smith, from R.E.A.L., another local investigation group. I met Tiger, er...I mean Jill, last fall during the TMCC paranormal series. I remembered her as a sweet, quiet person (as opposed to our very loud, boisterous group). She introduced me to Bert from Full Moon Paranormal. I knew that if there were going to be other groups at this conference, it was going to be good, because I am a net worker by nature. (a nice way of saying I am nosy, and want to know ev...

Yesterday Paula, my friend and fellow paranormal investigator, and I had a conversation that went something like this... Paula: Did you catch____the other night, they did a live feed on an investigation. Me: No. Was it any good? Paula: It was hilarious. There was this female investigator wearing a red dress, and with the IR cameras, it looked like she was walking around in her underwear. Me: No! Paula: Yeah! Me: No! Paula: I swear! Me: How did that happen? Paula: She was wearing red. Me: So? Paula: Well, with the IR, red is a neutral color, it disappears on film. Me: That doesn't sound right. Paula: Yep, red clothes vanish. It was like watching an xray. Me: You sure it wasn't the material of the cloth? Paula: Nope. It's the color red. Me: I don't believe that. Paula: Trust me, the woman looked like she was parading around in nothing more than her bra and panties....That and her high heels. Me: She was wearing high heels? Paula: ...

This past October, KOLO, a local news channel, reported on a small park in southwest Sparks that had been built over a cemetery. It seemed outrageous to me that a park would have been allowed to be built over bodies that remained interred on the property and I wanted to learn more; what I found was sad and  tragic. From 1882-1947, approximately 600 patients from the nearby State Mental Health Institute have been buried on an adjacent piece of property with little or no ceremony. If there were any markers placed, they have long disappeared. In 1959, the city leased a portion of the land and built a park; no bodies having ever been removed. For the past 41 years, children have played, families have picniced and basketball games have been played over the graves of anonymous inmates of what was formerly called the Nevada Insane Asylum. In 1977 road construction on 21st street unearthed several coffins. The Nevada State Journal reported that bones were discovere...

Truckee Meadows is getting snow...lots of it. I was so looking forward to going up to Virginia City today to participate in an investigation of the Saint Mary's Art Center. Unfortunately it's a no go. The weather conditions up on Geiger Grade are pretty severe right now, chains required, etc... The Grade can be treacherous...I prefer to hunt the dead, not be one of them. So I'm going to put on a pot of soup and enjoy the snowfall with family and friends today. Keep Safe...

I noticed that my solar activity application indicated a solar flare today along with an electromagnetic storm in space. I have heard said that weather conditions can cause an increase in paranormaL activity. I wonder if storms in deep space apply? I know that lunar conditions effect tides and such. I went onto the National Weather Service space weather predition center to see what these solar flares looked like. I have posted a picture here, Courtesy of NOAA (I know, I know, that's not really the color of the sun, but it's wicked cool).

Donner Ski Ranch is one of the oldest ski areas in the western United States. The area was first utilized for skiing in 1937. It is located near the scenic Old Highway 40 which was the transcontinental route before I-80 took its place in 1964. It is 45 miles west of Reno and 10 miles west of Truckee. The history of this area is both interesting and deadly. Native Americans traveled the Summit thousands of years ago leaving the evidence of their presense in petroglyphs and grinding rocks. Wagon trains began crossing the Summit in 1844 headed for California. The ill fated Donner Party attempted to cross in 1846, but was unable to conquer the Summit. They had to turn back and spent a tragic winter on the shores of what is now Donner Lake. Untold numbers of chinese laborers were killed during the building of the first transcontinental railway through this area. Changeable weather conditions are common in the Lake Tahoe Basin throughout the year. Winter storms may occur from Sept...